Software Development and Agile Thoughts from my mountain lair high above Denver, CO.

Things that really matter

What's it all about?

I haven't quite figured out the best title or format for this page, but the intent of it is this: in my work life several topics are important to me. How to develop software, how to manage people developing software and how to manage the software products being built. This page is my notes about, and links to, key ideas and approaches on these three topics that I think really matter.

For more of a "things that really matter" for the non-work life I recommend this.

Co-location really matters

"Having analyzed more than 10,000 cases in the QSM, Inc. projects database, we have discovered one particularly fascinating software development artifact: the biggest impediment to productivity and quality is a disparity in timezones," Mah said. "Whether teams are co-located or not co-located --clustered in one location—can have a huge impact. We only suspected that before, now we know for sure."Can companies overcome this handicap, Mah mused? "Absolutely, but it's rare. We now know that geography does matter, in the world of offshoring and software development."

Working more hours will not get you a quality product faster

Facebook’s “Hacker way”

How good engineers look at problems…

“The Hacker Way is an approach to building that
involves continuous improvement and iteration. Hackers believe that something
can always be better, and that nothing is ever complete. They just have to go
fix it — often in the face of people who say it’s impossible or are content
with the status quo.”

A few bad apples ruin everything

A
growing body of research suggests that having just a few nasty, lazy or
incompetent characters around can ruin the performance of a team or an entire
organization—no matter how stellar the other employees.

Bad
apples distract and drag down everyone, and their destructive behaviors, such
as anger, laziness and incompetence, are remarkably contagious. Leaders who let
a few bad apples in the door—perhaps in exchange for political favors—or look
the other way when employees are rude or incompetent are setting the stage for
even their most skilled people to fail.

A often-cited Cornell University study published
in 1999 by Justin Kruger and David Dunning found that below-average employees
tend to be unaware of their own shortcomings and will often overestimate their
abilities. They may not even understand why you are dissatisfied with their
work so may take criticism as a personal attack.

You are a software company. Act like one…or perish.

Ford
sells computers-on-wheels. McKinsey hawks consulting-in-a-box. FedEx boasts a
developer skunkworks. The era of separating traditional industries and
technology industries is over—and those who fail to adapt right now will soon
find themselves obsolete.